SUSTAINABILITY IS NOT ONLY ABOUT CARBON EMISSIONS

摘要

The new planning application for 96-100 Clerkenwell Road is a pioneering example of the kind of scheme we may see being rolled out across the UK if the government is to achieve its own recently announced carbon targets. It describes the transformation of a central London petrol station into a car free, mixed-use and contextually sensitive building. The proposed ?10 million development, undertaken for Azure Property LLP, integrates the principles of sustainable design with the needs of the urban environment to provide 3,300 sq feet of retail space, 20,000 sq feet of office space, 4 one-, 2 two- and 2 three-bed residential units, and an impressive array of green features. The scheme focuses on an incongruous gap site on the Clerkenwell Road, most likely left over from bomb damage during the Second World War. Development in the area dates back to 1144, and since then the over-layering of detailed street patterns, and the addition of a major thoroughfare and a series of large-scale Victorian industrial buildings, all contribute to the dense and vibrant local feel. In response to this, RPA have adopted an approach which aims to repair the break in the urban fabric, and add to the sense of local character and diversity. The result is essentially a hybrid design. Offices face onto the busy Clerkenwell Road, where the building's massing restores the street's once continuous frontage. A ground floor retail strip wraps around the base to emerge onto a second frontage, this time overlooking St. John's Square. The quieter more delicate environment provides the setting for the residential programme, as well as a first floor artisan studio.